Dhaka cafe attack: Head of JMB militant group along with 3 others arrested in Bangladesh

Police gather after gunmen attacked the Holey Artisan restaurant and took hostages early on July 1,2016 in DhakaReuters

Bangladesh security force arrested four militants of the banned home-grown Islamist extremist group, including its top regional head on Thursday, who authorities claim were responsible for the Dhaka cafe attack which killed 20 people.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officers raided a hideout of the Jamaat-Ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militant group in Gazipur's Tongi and arrested the four militants.

"Among them was Mahmudul Hasan, the southern regional head of the JMB. He is a top militant trainer," RAB spokesman Mufti Mahmud Khan told AFP.

The three other militants have been identified as Ashiqul Akbar Abesh, Najmus Shakib and Rahmatullah Shuvo.

ANOTHER IMPENDING TERROR ATTACK?

RAB spokesman Khan said that the police have recovered huge quantity of weapons, including handmade explosives and bomb-making materials from the house, indicating the militants "were planning to carry out an act of sabotage".

Khan also said these four militants had taken shelter in the house during Ramadan, before the festival of Eid . Reports suggest that the house was used for training JMB recruits.

Recently, Bangladesh police had arrested Milon Hossain, a teacher of Piyar Ali School and College, close to Shafiqul Islam Ujjal, one of those who attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery on July.

Milon was produced before the court that granted police five days to investigate him in custody.

BANGLADESH'S CONSTANT DENIAL

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group already claimed responsibility for the deadly Gulshan attack, but Bangladesh government always denied their presence in the country. The authorities blamed the home-grown JMB militants for the assault.